EQT Future to buy majority stake in DESOTEC mobile filters

EQT Future has struck a deal to take a controlling interest in DESOTEC, the Belgian specialist in circular mobile filtration systems, acquiring the stake from funds managed by Blackstone. The transaction brings two German family offices — Athos and Merckle — into the capital structure as co‑investors alongside EQT.

Founded in 1990 and headquartered in Roeselare, DESOTEC supplies on‑site, rental‑based activated carbon filtration solutions that remove contaminants including VOCs, PFAS and hydrogen sulfide from air, water and soil. Through its Filtration‑as‑a‑Service model — combining mobile rental units, logistics and in‑house carbon reactivation — the company generates predictable, recurring revenue and high customer retention.

Today DESOTEC operates what it describes as the world’s largest fleet of mobile reactivated carbon filters and serves more than 2,000 customers across Europe and North America. That installed base underpins a capital‑efficient growth model: rental contracts deliver stable cash flows while the circular reactivation process reduces waste and boosts ESG credentials for industrial clients facing tighter regulation.

Under the agreement EQT plans to accelerate DESOTEC’s roll‑out in geographies with low penetration, notably North America, where the mobile filtration segment is still nascent but supported by rising regulatory scrutiny on PFAS and air/water quality. EQT’s partnership aims to scale field operations, expand logistics and increase reactivation capacity to meet projected demand from chemical, petrochemical and remediation customers.

Andreas Aschenbrenner, Partner in the EQT Future advisory team, said the investment aligns with the fund’s focus on businesses that combine recurring revenue models with measurable environmental impact. Mark Thys, DESOTEC’s CEO, highlighted the company’s circular model as a differentiator that enables clients to meet stricter emissions and discharge rules while avoiding heavy capital expenditure.

Juergen Pinker, Senior Managing Director at Blackstone, commented that Blackstone will remain a minority investor and continue to support DESOTEC’s growth as it scales internationally. The parties said the transaction remains subject to customary regulatory approvals and is slated to close in H1 2026.

From a market perspective, the deal signals increased investor appetite for industrial decarbonisation and circular service models. Mobile filtration addresses a range of remediation and compliance use cases without large upfront plant investments, positioning firms like DESOTEC to capture a slice of the broader industrial water and air treatment market — an area seeing rising capex from both private industry and regulated cleanup projects across Europe and North America.